Twist of Fate
by Lilith8
Summary: Fate brought Kagome through the well, now its decided to add a couple more people to the quest. One who is inlove with Kagome, and the other who feels abandoned, and lost.
1. A Dream

Disclaimer: I only own my character, not the series Inuysaha. It makes me sad.

AN: I hate Kikyou with a passion of a thousand suns, so I'm really sorry if you like her because there will be tons of bashing. The usual pairs; Inu/Kag and Mir/San. Kind of Sess/Rin, but since she's still a kid, not a lot of fluff moments there. It might end up being Sess/Kagura, but who knows with my cookyness. Please R&R, you can flame if you want, hopefully you won't feel the need to. The title might change too, I don't know how I feel about it, so yea. I hope you enjoy!

Twist of Fate 

_Chapter 1: A Dream_

She watched calmly as the flames swirled around her in their heated fury causing death and destruction. A sudden pain flowed through her body, combined with her scream of torment. "Die foul beast!" Echoed around her.

She woke gasping for air, and taking in her surroundings. Cool metal, bland looking chairs met her inquiring gaze. No sign of flame, or a voice of hatred around her. Leaning back against her seat, and turning her gaze to look out her window she sighed with relief. The clouds flew by in a blur to her, still living in her dream. She still felt the pain that flooded her body, clouding everything around her. '_It was just a dream, just another dream. The fourth one in a row.' _The young girl sighed softly to herself in defeat. Giving into the exhaustion overwhelming her.

A few hours later

The first time in hours the 16 year-old stepped onto solid ground. Timidly walking to claim her luggage, picking up her small suitcase and continued towards the exit. All her life she lived in this city, but it never seemed like home, at least not anymore. '_I've been gone for a whole year. I don't belong here anymore, do I? Where do I belong then?' _The bus she boarded rolled to a stop a few blocks away from her destination. Suitcase in hand she walked to a food stand, hungrier than she would like to admit.

Once again heading down the street she didn't notice the young boy whose arms were full of strange (not to mention odd) health remedies heading straight for her.

**BANG! **The aforementioned health remedies, suitcase and her dinner ended up strewn all around the sidewalk. Hazel eyes looked longingly at her dinner, then at whom she had unceremoniously crashed into. '_Oh, yea it's Hojo. Wonder if he's gotten over his little crush yet.'_ Her eyes were suddenly met with kind, chocolate eyes.

"Keaira? Is that really you? Oh wow! I haven't seen you in ages!" Hojo greeted her kindly while helping her up and handing her the suitcase.

"Hello Hojo." Keaira greeted warmly with a smile. '_He's not the brightest crayon in the box, but he sure is the nicest.'_ "What's with all the remedies?" She asked curiously, handing him some that she picked up for him. His smile somehow got even brighter. "They're for Kagome. Her illnesses have gotten more frequent these past few months. I hope these can be of some help. Sorry about your dinner." She smiled at him again. '_Guess he hasn't. Poor guy.'_

"No big. Any way, I should be on my way. It was nice to see you again Hojo." She started to walk again, only to be stopped by the sound of name. She turned to face him again, waiting for him to add on.

"Are you heading to the Shrine?" He waited as she nodded her head once. "I'll walk with you, if that's ok. I haven't seen Kagome in awhile, and I'm getting really worried about her." He smiled shyly at her.

"Of course Hojo, I would welcome the company." She smiled at him again, and they began the short walk to the Higurashi Shrine.

The first thing that Keaira noticed was that the shrine hadn't changed at all, and it was a very comforting notion for her. Taking in the unchanged scenery, she lost herself her memories.

Flashback

Two giggling girls ran around the shrine grounds in pure joy. A new member to their family was coming home today, and they had made everything perfect him. The two girls even made a name sign for his door, telling everyone that this was 'Baby Souta's Room.' Of course it was a piece of paper with scrawlings in magic markers, but it was their first gift to the boy.

"I can't believe we got a little brother!" A squeal of excitement came from a young girl with raven black hair, and chestnut colored eyes. They squealed in excitement again, dancing around the shrine grounds.

End Flashback

Before she knew it they were in front of the door, knocking. "I got it!" A young boys yell was heard from inside, and the door flung open. Souta's chocolate eyes grew large as he saw the young woman standing in the doorway. A smile flew to his face, and he hugged the girl around the waist tightly. "Keaira your back!" He yelled in excitement.

"Souta, what's going on?" Mrs. Higurashi asked before she saw the young woman in the doorway. "Keaira, welcome home!" She said warmly, coming over to join the hug. She let go of Keaira to look at the boy next to her. "Oh, hello Hojo." She smiled at him, suddenly remembering that they were outside, she invited them in. Sitting down on the couch they sat in a moment of silence.

"Is Kagome feeling well today? I was hoping to visit her." Hojo spoke up, hope filling his voice. Mrs. Higurashi looked sadly at the boy for a moment.

"I'm sorry Hojo, but Kagome is extremely ill today, and contagious. I'm afraid she won't be able to have any visitors for awhile." She grew quiet, contemplating something that seemed it could be a risk to her. "Well since you came all this way why don't you join us for dinner? Souta can entertain you while I prepare, and Keaira, you can go clean up if you want." Keaira nodded.

"Thank you." Keaira said quietly heading up the stairs.

Awhile later

Keaira stood in front of the God tree, as if waiting for it to judge her. She dressed in her favorite pair of flared, faded jeans that were decorated with rhinestones wrapped around her right leg. She wore a corset top, that was mainly a bright, satin blue with intricate phoenix designs on it, the sides, and straps a satin black, matching her black ballet flats matching perfectly.

Keaira gazed worriedly at the God tree; she hadn't sensed Kagome anywhere in the vicinity of her home. '_What could it mean? Is she dying? Please, don't take her too.'_ A tear snuck its way down her cheek, betraying her every will not to.

"Keaira?" A concerned voice behind her startled her. Turning swiftly, while wiping away her tear, to face the voice.

"Hojo, you startled me."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. I was just seeing if you're alright."

"Of course I am silly!" She tried to convince him.

"You seem so sad, and lost Keaira. Are you sure you wouldn't like to talk about anything?" Hojo asked, concerned as always. Her hazel eyes met his chocolate brown, and she nodded her head, and smiled brightly.

"I'm perfect Hojo! Thank you for your concern though. I appreciate it." He nodded with a bright smile of his own. He looked as if he were about to say something when a bright, blue light caught their attention.


	2. Villages, monks and blood, oh my!

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I don't own Inuyasha, and it's a terrible tragedy.

AN: I hate Kikyou with a passion of a thousand suns, so I'm really sorry if you like her because there will be tons of bashing. The usual pairs; Inu/Kag and Mir/San. Kind of Sess/Rin, but since she's still a kid, not a lot of fluff moments there. It might end up being Sess/Kagura, but who knows with my cookyness. Please R&R, you can flame if you want, hopefully you won't feel the need to. Also spoilers may occur!!! The title might change too; I don't know how I feel about it, so yea. I hope you enjoy!

Twist of Fate 

_Chapter 2: Villages, monks, and blood, oh my! _

The bright light subsided, and two 'oofs' could be heard. "Ugh, what happened?" Keaira asked, while pushing herself off the ground.

"I'm not exactly sure." Hojo replied while dusting himself off. "Where are we?" He asked while looking around. They were in a clearing, beautiful green grass, and flowers everywhere. '_I'll have to remember this place, Kagome would love it!'_ Trees lined the clearing behind them, and in front of them they could barley make out a village in the distance.

"Maybe we should…" Keaira started to suggest, but something wasn't right here. She could feel it, her body hummed with warning.

"Ok, lets go! It'll be a little adventure!" Hojo shouted excitedly, and started off towards the village. Keaira heard Hojo begin to hum, way off key. _'If he keeps humming I'm going to rip out his tongue!'_ Nearly growling and her eye beginning to twitch, she followed Hojo to the village.

As they grew closer to the village they noticed something was off, "They must be having a gathering of some sort, if no one is around." Hojo said nervously. Keaira just looked at him as if he two heads but continued walking _'way to fucking cheerful'_. It wasn't until they reached the edge of the village that they saw it. The dull, red liquid nearly covering every inch of the village attacked their sight.

"What the…" Keaira tried to speak. The horror before them was indescribable. Bodies of the villagers were scattered, some in multiple pieces. She couldn't breath, couldn't speak, couldn't move, she couldn't do anything except fight the urge to empty the contents of her stomach. The blood seeped into the ground, the wood and seemed to make everything even more ominous.

"How…wha-…who…" Hojo attempted to speak. He felt his knees give out, and he started to fall towards the ground, but Keaira caught him.

"Don't…" She whispered and gestured towards the ground. They stood there, rooted to the ground with pure anguish on both their faces. Tears welled up in Keaira's eyes, making her eyes glisten in the setting sun. _'What the hell happened here?'_ Taking a tentative step forward to test if she could trust her legs to support her. Seeing that she was able to walk now, she went into the village. As she ventured further, the carnage got worse. Everything…everyone…

"Ahhhhhhhh!"

A ways away

"Ahhhhhhhh!" The blood-curdling scream broke through the serenity of the temple. The monk turned his head to where the scream had come from.

"What's that all about?" The drunken monk asked himself. The scream wasn't human, and it was close, to close for his taste. He got up from his seat on the steps, he grabbed his staff, and headed off in the direction the scream came from.

"Master Mushin, where are you going?" Hatchi asked while coming out into the yard.

"Hatchi, go find Miroku." He said as he walked away towards the inhuman scream.

In the village

Keaira's eyes widened at the sight of the blood-covered body in front of her. It hadn't noticed her yet thankfully. Her hands still covered her ears in a vain attempt to protect them from the terrible scream moments before. She couldn't make out any features of the creature, just that it had beautiful silver locks of hair, and white clothing now stained crimson. She vaguely felt Hojo run up next to her, looking at the small form in front of them. They stood there for what seemed to be an eternity, but really it was only a few minutes.

"Do you think that it could be a survivor?" Hojo suddenly whispered to her. Instead of responding she started towards the trembling form. It suddenly went still, and she stopped in the middle, between Hojo and the blood soaked form. Fear struck her like a lightening bolt, she couldn't pinpoint it, but she knew something wasn't right with this kid. It felt familiar, but new, terrifying even. These emotions never went through her, she wasn't afraid of anything, and here she was beginning to think she should run and hide from the figure in front of her. _'No! I won't, whatever it is I won't run. No matter how much I want to, I can't.'_ She took a deep breath to try and calm herself down. She began to walk towards the figure again, slow and careful steps. She reached it, and moved to put her hand on its shoulder.

"Don't touch it!" A shout of urgency stopped her movement. Her head snapped in the direction it had come from, and laid her eyes on an old man in orange robe, with a purple sash type thing, and a staff.

"Wh-" Keaira suddenly felt a hand around her throat, cutting off her air supply. '_Feels like…'_

Flashback

The sun beat down on the valley, making everything hazy. Before her stood the man she knew she had to stop. "Let her go!" Her own childish voice rang her ears. Practically out of thin air a hand shot out and cut off her air supply. The man's face grew a large, vindictive smile.

"Who's going to make me little girl?" The man's voice was soft, but malice poured from the very vocal cords.

End flashback

_'No…it…can't…be…'_ The darkness took over, and she couldn't fight it, nor did she want to as her memories washed over her.

Ways away

"Master Miroku! Master Miroku!" A panicked shriek vibrated through the air, catching the attention of group gathered around a fire, and Inuyasha glared death at the servant for hurting his sensitive ears.

"Hatchi? What are you doing here?" Miroku asked while standing up, and looking at his loyal servant questioningly. Hatchi transformed into his original raccoon self, and panted heavily.

"Master…pant…Miroku…pant…the…pant…monk…pant…Mushin…pant…

needs…pant…your help…pant…" Hatchi struggled to relay his message. Miroku and the others looked at him questioningly.

"He's not dying again is he Hatchi?" The monk asked with humor in his voice. Hatchi smiled a little between his gasping for breath.

"No…pant…their…pant…was a…pant…terrible…pant…scream…pant…and…pant…Mushin went…to investigate…pant…" Hatchi explained between his pants.

"Well than we should go help him." Miroku said thoughtfully. Sango, Kagome and Shippo nodded and started to prepare to leave.

"He better not make us clean the whole temple again." Kagome said, tell tale trace of anger in her voice.

"Feh," Inuyasha responded, and Shippo's voice agreed with her.

At the Village

The boy's hand tightened around the slim neck in his hand. _'Pathetic human, far to easy to break.'_ His face twisted into a spiteful smirk, and threw the unconscious body to the ground, coating her in blood. The young boy, who couldn't be more than eight, turned to face the monk who decided to show. _'I don't sense any powers from this old man, he's not even worth it._' If possible the boy's void, violet eyes seemed to glow with evil. Behind him, a demon horse whose hooves were encased in flames appeared and waited for the boy to mount him. "Next time," and the boy and his horse were gone.

The monk visibly relaxed when the boy; which he was sure was a demon, was out of sight. He looked at the girl on the ground, then to the boy who was planted to the ground in surprise and fear. He looked strange to him, but at least he was human, _'I think so anyway.' _ He walked over to the unconscious girl, and examined her for wounds.

"Young man, do you know this girl?" The monk asked Hojo. He nodded to the monk, and bowed respectfully (forbid that Hojo forget his manners :P). "Alright then. Pick her up, we need to get her to the temple." He stood up and waited for the young man to do as he asked him to do.

"Why do we need to get to a temple?" Hojo asked the monk.

"In case the demon comes back, and to prepare ourselves for the many burials we'll have to do. My name is Mushin, I am the head monk of the temple here."

"My name is Hojo, and this is Keaira. Its so nice to meet you Monk Mushin."

"Please, just Mushin is fine, Hojo." Mushin turned to smile at him. _'Could it really be?'_

With the Inu Gang

"Do we havta help the drunk?" Inuyasha asked annoyed. The last time they helped the drunken monk they ended up working their asses off for no reason. On his back, Kagome glared at him.

"Yes, for the millionth time." She gritted through her teeth, Inuyasha asking the same question was beginning to get annoying. _'But he's just so…wait…bad Kagome!' _Inuyasha's body stiffening brought her out of her thoughts. "What is it Inuyasha?"

"Blood, lots of blood."


	3. Bloody Memories

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I don't own Inuyasha, and it's a terrible tragedy.

AN: I hate Kikyou with a passion of a thousand suns, so I'm really sorry if you like her because there will be tons of bashing. The usual pairs; Inu/Kag and Mir/San. Kind of Sess/Rin, but since she's still a kid, not a lot of fluff moments there. It might end up being Sess/Kagura, but who knows with my cookyness. Please R&R, you can flame if you want, hopefully you won't feel the need to. Also spoilers may occur!!! The title might change too; I don't know how I feel about it, so yea. I hope you enjoy!

Twist of Fate 

_Chapter 3: Bloody Memories_

"Blood, lots of blood." Inuyasha told her grimly. The smell was almost more than he could handle, his nose was burning like fire, and it was causing his eyes to well up with tears. _'This can't be good.'_ He looked over to Miroku, Sango, Kirara and Shippo who were riding Hatchi's back, and noticed that Shippo seemed to smell it too. His little paws were covering his nose to try to block the intense odor, and buried his head in to Sango's hair. Miroku looked over to him, his eyes held a steely determination.

"An attack." It was a statement more than a question. Inuyasha just nodded his head to the monk. Inuyasha was almost scared to find the source of all the blood. Kagome tensed on his back, and he didn't feel her breath on the back of his neck anymore. He looked down to ground, and dropped down to the ground just before the edge of the blood. Kagome slid off his back, stunned. No one said anything for what seemed like an eternity, the only movement was the few tears that Kagome couldn't stop from falling.

"Kami…" Sango struggled to get the word passed her suddenly cotton dry mouth. The silence was deafening as they gazed upon the massacre before them. Inuyasha was the first to break stillness; he walked forward slowly sensing if the threat was still in the village.

"We should give them a proper burial." He whispered, and without looking back to the others he walked further into the bloodied mess.

**At the temple**

Mushin carefully looked over the strange girl that the Hojo boy called Keaira. If it was the same girl as a those years ago, _'it can't be, she would be about my age.'_

"Mushin?" Hojo interrupted the monk's thoughts. "What should we do?" Hojo couldn't deny that he was a little more than frightened after what he had witnessed. _'Where are we that something that terrible could happen? What's going on here? Shouldn't we be calling the police?'_ Hojo's eyes took on an unfocused gaze, as he began to think. (Which sometimes is hard to believe :P).

"Hatchi should have found Miroku by now." Mushin took deep, calming breath. He knew what he was about to ask the boy was too much, but it was necessary. "I need you to go back to the village, to help Miroku and his friends bury the dead." Hojo's eyes doubled their size, and fear was shining like the sun in them. "Don't worry, I don't think the demon will return anytime soon, you will be fine!" He chuckled good-naturedly.

"Uh…I'm not sure I'll be of much help to them. I mean-" Hojo attempted to find an excuse so he wouldn't have to go back to the horrid sight. "What about Keaira?"

"Of course you will! I'm sure they'd welcome the help. As for your friend, she'll be fine, don't worry." Mushin began to usher Hojo out of the shrine. "If it'll put you at ease, here is a protection sutra. Nothing will harm you, now off you go!" Mushin gave Hojo a little shove towards the village. "Oh, and don't tell them about your friend. No need to add worry to Miroku!" _'More like he'll hurry to come and grope the unconscious girl.' _Mushin watched as Hojo slowly, very slowly, walked in the direction of the bloodshed. Mushin walked back into the temple, with a sigh.

**With Keaira**

The darkness surrounded her, cutting her off from all the pain that had seeped into her life these past few weeks, and cut her off from the remaining happy memories she had. 'Where am I?' She asked the void in wonder. Keaira half expected a creepy voice to answer her. 'Hm, figures that even my own head doesn't want to talk to me. Wait…am I in my head, because that could be trippy.'

'_Your head might not want to talk to you, but I do.'_ A miserable, feminine voice rang out softly. The figure was walking towards her, to slow for Keaira's liking.

'Who are you?' The shadowed figure didn't bother to answer as it came into view. 'What the fuck!?' Keaira stared at the female in wonder, 'do I know you? Because I know your not me, no offense.' The woman laughed lightly.

'We have met before, though you were very young at the time.' The woman's fiery crimson eyes dulled to light blush in sadness as she gazed upon Keaira. 'You must help me.'

'How can I help you?' True concern, and apprehension laced through her words. _'Who is this woman? Maybe I should be asking what instead of who.' _The woman gave her a sad smile, as if she apologizing for something, and pointed behind Keaira. She turned around to see what the woman was pointing at. Emerald eyes widened at the sight at the glowing lake before her, it seemed to reach out for, begging her to come within its depths.

'Its your choice.' The voice became comforting, the eyes softened in understanding. Keaira looked at her, she didn't understand why, but she knew she owed this woman something. She nodded and walked to the waiting water, its cool liquid reached for her and encircled her brining her to its secret depths.

**Back at the Village**

Inuyasha picked up a few pieces of a young girls body, her blood covering his haori as many others had. He and Miroku took the task of picking up the bodies while the others dug the graves. He refused to look at the faces, or what was left of them; he was already pissed off as is it was. Inuyasha's face was grim, he hadn't spoken a word since they began to bury the villagers. He didn't understand it, who could have done this? Why would anyone want to do this to innocent people?

Kagome hasn't been able to stop crying since they found the village, even Sango hadn't been able to hold back all of her tears. Never had they come across a sight such as this, the many slaughtered villages they had come found on their journey's couldn't compare to this one. The sound of footsteps brought Inuyasha out of his musings, he couldn't smell who it was, and that was pissing him off. Inuyasha prepared for an attack, but the attacker never came, instead a strange clothed young man came into view. _'He looks like that boy from Kagome's time.'_ Inuyasha noticed that all the movements behind him had ceased, but didn't turn to acknowledge it. He felt Kagome walk up to stand next to him.

Kagome gasped, "Hojo? What are you doing here?" Her eyes went wide with shock. Meanwhile Hojo was the picturesque of a gaping fish for air.

"H-Hig-Higurashi?" He stuttered in his attempt to speak. _'Did she get pulled here by that light too?'_

**Back at the Temple**

Mushin kneeled next to the unconscious girl. "If you are her then you have changed dramatically over the years since we have last seen you. Why aren't you older, or has it not been as long for you as it has been for the rest of us? It seems so long ago since we've said goodbye." He reached out to stroke her hair, and chuckled lightly. _'No matter how much blood is on her or in her hair, it always seems like silk. How can it be you though? You were never to return to this wretched place.'_

Just then Keaira moved a little to reveal a small scar. There below her left shoulder was the kanji for demon. It was fluid, and graceful, almost beautiful like the one who had branded her with the mark. It was hard to believe that such beautiful writing had been done with an arrow. Mushin could feel the hatred rise within him, but forced it down. He was a monk, an old monk who lived in peace; he didn't need to bring up old emotions that would just cause trouble. _'Besides, I am unable to fight these days, being old grows to be more of a burden by the day.' _Mushin was so caught up in his own thoughts he didn't notice Keaira was slowly opening her eyes. A tugging at his sleeve brought his attention back to the girl before him who was currently using his sleeve to help her sit up.

"Here allow me to help you." Mushin took her arm, as gently as possible to help her up. She looked at him in confusion, like helping a person was a foreign concept to her. She was breathing in gasps as if she hadn't been able to breath for hours.

"Do I know you?" Keaira whispered, still attempting to gain her breath.

"Yes, Keaira, we were both children. I am Mushin, I am much older than I was when we met last." He replied to her, amusement shown through his words, and his eyes shined with mirth. Keaira poked his face.

"But your soooooo oooold." Keaira replied while she began to pull on his cheeks, and making funny faces.

**With the Inu Gang**

Hojo quickly got over his surprise. "Were pulled here by the light too?" He walked over to her and almost took hold of her hands, Kagome could only stand there and stare. _'How did he get here? What's going on?'_ "Are you alright, Higurashi? Your eyes are little glazed over."

"I-I'm fine Hojo. How did you get here?" Kagome asked him attempting to stay as calm as possible. Inuyasha stood to her side, gritting his teeth and clenching his fists.

"Talk later. Right now we have a job to do." Inuyasha growled to them and walked away going back to the task at hand. Hojo (finally) realized that they hadn't finished burying the dead villagers yet. Looking at the scene a second time that day was too much for him. Hojo felt the bile rise in his throat, restraining himself he walked over to Kagome and began to dig a grave by her side. He didn't notice the confused, worried and extremely distraught energy flowing off of Kagome.

No one looked at anyone else, nor was a word uttered for hours. The sun was setting they had just finished paying respects to the dead. They gathered their belongings in silence; it was an understanding between them all to not speak for a while.

"So Kagome how did you get here?" Hojo asked her while he helped her gather her backpack. Kagome looked at him for a moment, then gave him a sad smile.

"We'll talk later Hojo." She turned from him, and walked by Inuyasha's side towards the temple.


	4. Temple Talks

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I don't own Inuyasha, and it's a terrible tragedy.

AN: I hate Kikyou with a passion of a thousand suns, so I'm really sorry if you like her because there will be tons of bashing. The usual pairs; Inu/Kag and Mir/San. Kind of Sess/Rin, but since she's still a kid, not a lot of fluff moments there. It might end up being Sess/Kagura, but who knows with my cookyness. Please R&R, you can flame if you want, hopefully you won't feel the need to. Also spoilers may occur!!! The title might change too; I don't know how I feel about it, so yea. I hope you enjoy!

Twist of Fate 

_Chapter 4: Temple talks _

The gang walked in silence, unable to look at each other, and unable to erase the gruesome sight from their mind's eye. Inuyasha and Miroku led them, while the rest of followed behind. The silence was tense; you could have cut it with a butter knife, so Hojo took it upon himself to break the silence.

"Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Hojo. And you all are?" Hojo spoke after clearing his throat. Everyone stopped in their tracks and looked at him strangely since he was smiling like an idiot.

'_Leave it Hojo' _Kagome thought, and watched as Inuyasha stomped toward the clueless human. Inuyasha glared at the boy with hatred burning in his eyes.

"Shut. Up." Inuyasha growled at him, and continued on his way towards the temple. Kagome gave Hojo an apologetic smile and continued walking after a moment. The others looked from Hojo to Inuyasha, and continued to walk. Miroku lagged behind Inuyasha now, Hojo caught up him and walked beside him for a minute.

"So…what's with him?" Hojo whispered his question to Miroku, a little hesitant to ask. The monk looked him strangely.

"He's upset about the village." Miroku answered, _'he isn't listening to Inuyasha.'_ Miroku looked ahead at Inuyasha and Kagome, and wondered if Inuyasha had heard Hojo's question. _'He is a strange one. I wonder if he has any idea just how close he was to dying just now.'_

**The Temple**

Keaira watched as the blood flowed away down the stream, her eyes were unfocused rolling, and turning the information that she had just acquired. She submerged herself into the water's depths, hoping to be free of blood on her body, the cold water seemingly biting at her skin, her punishment for interrupting its natural flow. _'How can this be happening? Why am I here? What's the purpose? All I do is cause pain, and make things worse.' _The stream whisked away the tears that flowed from her eyes, the water wanting to take away her pain. She surfaced, and looked around her to see if anyone had come upon her while she was underwater. Seeing no one she jumped out of the water, and walked to her clothes, hoping they had enough time to dry sufficiently. _'Nope.'_ She thought wryly, grimacing she put the clothes on, making a mental note to ask for spare clothes while hers' dried.

Walking into the temple she noticed a set of clothing set out on a low table for her. Silently thanking Mushin, she carried the clothing into a more privet room to change. Unknown to her that as soon as she entered said room, a group of companions entered the main entrance.

**With the gang**

They entered the temple silently; Hatchi mumbled something about going to find Master Mushin. No one had a clue as to what should be said or done now, and an awkward silence fell upon them. The sound of scurrying feet startled them; a barley audible 'feh' was heard at that. Mushin entered the room then, smiling at them. As he took in their faces, his smile faded, '_so the village must have been worse than I thought._'

"Everyone, please sit down, Hatchi is bringing the tea." Mushin informed them as he sat down, the group following his movements. The blanket of silence fell over them once again, until Hatchi brought the tea.

"Old man, who did it?" Inuyasha asked in his usual harsh way. The old man sighed loudly.

"I don't know his name I'm afraid, but I did see him. As did the young man of course since he was almost attacked by the boy. He was a boy with silver hair, and emotionless, dull eyes. I think he was a demon." The group gave him incredulous stares, and one glare.

"Hojo, you almost got attacked? Are you ok?" Kagome asked him, concerned for his well being. Hojo smiled at her in return.

"Of course Higurashi, thank you for your concern." He responded, and then frowned in thought. "Higurashi, how did you get here? And how do you know these people so well if you only got here, like w-me?" Hojo asked the question that had been on his mind for a while. _'I almost told them about Keaira, Mushin wouldn't have been happy about that. Why doesn't he want them to know about her anyway?'_ He finally noticed the concerned, thoughtful faces in the room, "What?"

"Just tell him already!" Inuyasha said to Kagome, annoyed beyond all reason at the moment. Kagome's response was to look down at her hands.

"Yes, Kagome, I think we should tell him. He is from you're time, am I correct?" Miroku added to Inuyasha's statement. Kagome nodded her head.

"Kagome? Are you alright?" Sango asked her friend, concerned. _'She's never this quiet, unless she just caught Inuyasha with Kikyou. What's wrong with her?'_ Shippo walked over to Kagome and sat on her lap, and hugged her.

"What ever is wrong Kagome, it'll be ok." Shippo tried to comfort her. Kagome smiled at him, and hugged him back.

"Thank you Shippo." She grew quiet after that, looking at everyone in the room, then to her tea as it sat discarded on the tatami mat. "Hojo, how did you get here?"

"Uh, well, I was in front of the Sacred Tree at the shrine, I went to see how you were doing, and then a bright blue light swept me up and brought me here. Where is here anyway?" Hojo answered, careful to leave out Keaira's return to the shrine that day.

"The Feudal Era, baka." Inuyasha glared at Hojo._ 'I don't like the way this guy is looking at Kagome, she's mine damnit!'_ Inuyasha began to growl softly, and scooted closer to Kagome still glaring Hojo.

"Hojo, can I trust you?" Kagome asked him, she looked into his eyes at that moment, tears shining in her eyes. "Can we trust you?" She asked more urgently than before.

"I…um…I…of course you can Higurashi." Hojo told her, he was hoping that it had sounded reassuring in his soft voice. Kagome just sat there and it seemed to everyone that she was trying to see into his soul.

"Kagome, are you alright?" Shippo asked as he took his perch on her shoulder. Kagome's gaze didn't falter, and the others looked to Hojo then back to Kagome, and back again. A sigh was heard from the girl as she closed her eyes, and tilted her head towards the ground.

"Wench what the hell is wrong?" Inuyasha's gruff exterior didn't fool anyone, except for Hojo.

"DON'T YOU DARE CALL HIGURASHI THAT!" Hojo yelled at the stunned hanyou. Hojo glared at him from his sudden height from standing up, Inuyasha matched his glare with an even deadlier one. Everyone held their breath; positive Hojo had just sealed his fate. '_Of course he doesn't realize that Kagome is the only one able to yell at Inuyasha, and live to tell about it.'_ Their thoughts ran along that line.

"What are you going to do about it?" He questioned the pissed off young man in his usual arrogant tone.

"Stop it." The soft whisper immediately froze the two. They looked at Kagome, but she was still staring a hole into the floor. "I didn't know you had such a temper, Hojo." She added, equally soft but with a little more amusement.

"Feh, wench you have more mood swings then there are moods." Inuyasha looked away and tucked his hands into the sleeves of his haori.

"Inuyasha," a calm voice said. The half demon's ears flattened against his head. "SIT!" Bang! Inuyasha had made yet another Inuyasha shaped crater.

"Bitch, what did you do that for?!" Inuyasha growled from his new crater. Kagome didn't answer the angry hanyou; she just sat there, still looking at the floor. '_Something is defiantly wrong if she won't argue with me.'_ Now more concerned for the miko, he sat down next to her, closer than usual, hoping that his presence would help Kagome in some way.

"Hojo, please call me Kagome. We're friends aren't we? And it seems that we'll be spending a lot more time together." Kagome tried to give her brightest smile to Hojo. _'How can I tell him? He won't understand, and it just feels wrong. So wrong, why couldn't it be Keaira instead of Hojo?'_ Tears sprung into her eyes, but she quickly bid them away, she had to be normal here, the happy-go-lucky girl her friends knew, and loved. Kagome took a deep breath to calm herself, '_here goes nothing.'_ So Kagome began the story of how the quest for the Sacred Jewel began, and how their little group came to be.

AN: Thanks to all those who reviewed!! Please review!!


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